Archosauromorpha is a clade of diapsid reptiles containing all reptiles more closely related to archosaurs rather than lepidosaurs. Archosauromorphs first appeared during the late Middle Permian or Late Permian, though they became much more common and diverse during the Triassic period.
Rhynchosaurs are a group of extinct herbivorous Triassic archosauromorph reptiles, belonging to the order Rhynchosauria. Members of the group are distinguished by their triangular skulls and elongated, beak like premaxillary bones. Rhynchosaurs first appeared in the Early Triassic, reaching their broadest abundance and a global distribution during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic.
Hyperodapedon is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur reptiles which lived during Late Triassic period. Like other rhynchosaurs, it was an heavily built archosauromorph, distantly related to archosaurs such as crocodilians and dinosaurs. Hyperodapedon in particular was part of the subfamily Hyperodapedontinae, a specialized rhynchosaurian subgroup with broad skulls, beaked snouts, and crushing tooth plates on the roof of the mouth.
Askeptosaurus is an extinct genus of askeptosauroid, a marine reptile from the extinct order Thalattosauria. Askeptosaurus is known from several well-preserved fossils found in Middle Triassic marine strata in what is now Italy and Switzerland.
The Cynognathus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod biozone utilized in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. It is equivalent to the Burgersdorp Formation, the youngest lithostratigraphic formation in the Beaufort Group, which is part of the fossiliferous and geologically important Karoo Supergroup. The Cynognathus Assemblage Zone is the youngest of the eight biozones found in the Beaufort Group, and is considered to be late Early Triassic (Olenekian) to early Middle Triassic (Anisian) in age. The name of the biozone refers to Cynognathus crateronotus, a large and carnivorous cynodont therapsid which occurs throughout the entire biozone.
Arambourgisuchus is an extinct genus of dyrosaurid crocodylomorph from the late Palaeocene of Morocco, found in the region of Sidi Chenane in 2000, following collaboration by French and Moroccan institutions, and described in 2005 by a team led by palaeontologist Stéphane Jouve. Arambourgisuchus was a large animal with an elongated skull 1 meter in length.
Mesosuchus is an extinct genus of basal Rhynchosaur from early Middle Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is known from the holotype SAM 5882, a partial skeleton, and from the paratypes SAM 6046, SAM 6536, SAM 7416 and SAM 7701 from the Aliwal North Euparkeria site. Mesosuchus is quite small, spanning around 30 cm in length. Mesosuchus was discovered and named by David Meredith Seares Watson in 1912.
Turfanosuchus is a genus of archosauriform reptile, likely a gracilisuchid archosaur, which lived during the Middle Triassic (Anisian) of northwestern China. The type species, T. dabanensis, was described by C.C. Young in 1973, based on a partially complete but disarticulated fossil skeleton found in the Kelamayi Formation of the Turfan Basin.
Wimanius is a genus of ichthyosaur from the Middle Triassic of Switzerland, containing a single species, Wimanius odontopalatus. It was described by Michael Maisch and Andreas Matzke in 1998 based on an incomplete skull from Monte San Giorgio, a mountain on the Swiss-Italian border. Wimanius possesses teeth on its palate, though whether they were located on the palatine or pterygoid is disputed. Other features of Wimanius include a large orbit and jugals with two rami of similar lengths. Different phylogenetic placements of Wimanius have been recovered by different studies, including it being a mixosaurid relative or a merriamosaur, and a monotypic family, Wimaniidae has been named for it. However, its validity has also been questioned, and synonymy with various other genera has been proposed.
Fodonyx is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur from the middle Triassic epoch of Devon in England. Its fossils were discovered in Otter Sandstone Formation and were first assigned to Rhynchosaurus spenceri. This species was reassigned to its own genus, Fodonyx the holotype of which is EXEMS 60/1985/292, that described by David W. E. Hone and Michael J. Benton in 2008. More recently, one skull was reassigned to the new genus Bentonyx. It is distinguished from other rhynchosaurs by a single autapomorphy, the ventral angling of the paraoccipital processes. In all other rhynchosaurs these processes angle dorsally or are horizontal. It is not known if this conferred any advantage to Fodonyx. Fodonyx was between 40 and 50 cm long.
Stenaulorhynchus is an extinct genus of hyperodapedontid rhynchosaur known from the Middle Triassic deposits of Tanganyika Territory, Tanzania. It was found in the Lifua Member of the Manda Formation in the Karoo Supergroup. It was named and first described by Sidney Henry Haughton in 1932. The type species is Stenaulorhynchus stockleyi, a beaked herbivore measuring 1–6 meters in length.
Howesia is an extinct genus of basal rhynchosaur from early Middle Triassic deposits of Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is known from the holotype SAM 5884, a partial skeleton with palate and partial lower jaws and from two paratypes, SAM 5885 and SAM 5886. It was found in the Burgersdorp Formation of the middle deposits of the Beaufort Group and referred to Subzone B of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone. It was first named by Robert Broom in 1905 and the type species is Howesia browni, named after Alfred Brown.
Teraterpeton is an extinct genus of trilophosaurid archosauromorphs. It is known from a partial skeleton from the Late Triassic Wolfville Formation of Nova Scotia, described in 2003. It has many unique features seen in no other related form, including an elongated, toothless snout and large openings for the nostrils. Because of this, Teraterpeton was originally placed in its own family, Teraterpetidae, related to Trilophosaurus. Newer studies generally place it within Trilophosauridae.
Palatodonta is an extinct genus of basal placodontiform marine reptile known from the early Middle Triassic of the Netherlands. It is closely related to a group of marine reptiles called placodonts, characterized by their crushing teeth and shell-like body armor. Palatodonta is transitional between placodonts and earlier reptiles; like placodonts, it has teeth on its palate, but while these teeth are thick and blunt in placodonts, Palatodonta has palatal teeth that are thin and pointed.
Langeronyx is an extinct genus of basal rhynchosaurid known from the early Middle Triassic Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation of Warwickshire, UK. It contains a single species, Langeronyx brodiei, originally included in the genus Rhynchosaurus. R. brodiei was first described and named by Michael Benton in 1990, but its redescription by Martín D. Ezcurra, Felipe Montefeltro and Richard J. Butler in 2016 recovered it as more closely related to the more advance hyperodapedontine than to the type species of Rhynchosaurus and thus it was moved to its own genus. The generic name Langeronyx honors the Brazilian paleontologist Max Cardoso Langer in recognition of his rhynchosaur research, combined with the Greek onyx (óνυξ) meaning "claw", a common suffix for rhynchosaur genera. L. brodiei is known solely from the holotype, a partial skull divided into the two specimens WARMS G6097/1 and NHMUK PV R8495, housed in the Warwickshire Museum, Warwick and Natural History Museum, London, respectively. Other specimens originally referred to R. brodiei either do not overlap with its type or can be just as likely referred to other basal rhynchosaurids. L. brodiei is one of two basal archosauromorphs known from the Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation, the other being the lesser known Rhombopholis scutulata.
Kadimakara is an extinct genus of early archosauromorph reptile from the Arcadia Formation of Queensland, Australia. It was seemingly a very close relative of Prolacerta, a carnivorous reptile which possessed a moderately long neck. The generic name Kadimakara references prehistoric creatures from Aboriginal myths which may have been inspired by ice-age megafauna. The specific name K. australiensis relates to the fact that it was found in Australia. Prolacerta and Kadimakara were closely related to the Archosauriformes, a successful group which includes archosaurs such as crocodilians, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs.
Colobops is a genus of reptile from the Late Triassic of Connecticut. Only known from a tiny skull, this reptile has been interpreted to possess skull attachments for very strong jaw muscles. This may have given it a very strong bite, despite its small size. However, under some interpretations of the CT scan data, Colobops's bite force may not have been unusual compared to other reptiles. The generic name, Colobops, is a combination of κολοβός, meaning shortened, and ὤψ, meaning face. This translation, "shortened face", refers to its short and triangular skull. Colobops is known from a single species, Colobops noviportensis. The specific name, noviportensis, is a latinization of New Haven, the name of both the geological setting of its discovery as well as a nearby large city. The phylogenetic relations of Colobops are controversial. Its skull shares many features with those of the group Rhynchosauria, herbivorous archosauromorphs distantly related to crocodilians and dinosaurs. However, many of these features also resemble the skulls of the group Rhynchocephalia, an ancient order of reptiles including the modern tuatara, Sphenodon. Although rhynchosaurs and rhynchocephalians are not closely related and have many differences in the skeleton as a whole, their skulls are remarkably similar. As Colobops is only known from a skull, it is not certain which one of these groups it belonged to. Pritchard et al. (2018) interpreted it as a basal rhynchosaur, while Scheyer et al. (2020) reinterpreted it as a rhynchocephalian.
Ufudocyclops is an extinct genus of stahleckeriid dicynodont from the Middle Triassic of South Africa. It was found in the Burgersdorp Formation, part of the uppermost Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Beaufort Group in the Karoo Basin. The type and only known species is U. mukanelai. It was a large, beaked herbivore like other Triassic dicynodonts, lacking tusks, and is mostly characterised by unique features of the skull. It is known from three specimens, two of which were previously referred to the Tanzanian dicynodont Angonisaurus. The separation of Ufudocyclops from Angonisaurus indicates that the Middle Triassic fauna of the Beaufort Group in South Africa was not part of a larger shared fauna with those of the Manda Beds in Tanzania, as was previously supposed, and suggests that they were separated as more localised faunas, possibly by geographic barriers or in time. Ufudocyclops then would have been a unique part of the uppermost Cynognathus Assemblage Zone in South Africa. It is also the oldest known member of the family Stahleckeriidae, and implies that the family was already diversifying in the Middle Triassic alongside other kannemeyeriiforms, not just in the Late Triassic after other families died out.
Rugarhynchos is an extinct genus of doswelliid archosauriform from the Late Triassic of New Mexico. The only known species is Rugarhynchos sixmilensis. It was originally described as a species of Doswellia in 2012, before receiving its own genus in 2020. Rugarhynchos was a close relative of Doswellia and shared several features with it, such as the absence of an infratemporal fenestra and heavily textured skull bones. However, it could also be distinguished by many unique characteristics, such as a thick diagonal ridge on the side of the snout, blunt spikes on its osteoderms, and a complex suture between the quadratojugal, squamosal, and jugal. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and tooth morphology suggest that Rugarhynchos had a general skull anatomy convergent with some crocodyliforms, spinosaurids, and phytosaurs. However, its snout was somewhat less elongated than those other reptiles.
Vetusodon is an extinct genus of cynodonts belonging to the clade Epicynodontia. It contains one species, Vetusodon elikhulu, which is known from four specimens found in the Late Permian Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone of South Africa. With a skull length of about 18 centimetres (7.1 in), Vetusodon is the largest known cynodont from the Permian. Through convergent evolution, it possessed several unusual features reminiscent of the contemporary therocephalian Moschorhinus, including broad, robust jaws, large incisors and canines, and small, single-cusped postcanine teeth.
